BILOXI, Mississippi -- A refrigerator, assorted socks and shoes, PVC pipe, bones of unknown origin, a tent and part of a billboard were among the items volunteers found on Deer Island Tuesday during the 9th annual Renew Our Rivers cleanup campaign.

Some 150 volunteers turned out for the day-long cleanup on Earth Day. Sunny skies and temperatures in the low 70's made for ideal conditions on the barrier island.

Tuesday's Deer Island cleanup was the first of seven such events scheduled as part of this year's Renew Our Rivers campaign, sponsored annually by Mississippi Power, with the support of the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Keep Mississippi Beautiful, the City of Biloxi, Harrison County and Waste Management.

The event continues to grow thanks in no small part to the participation of several local casinos, including the Beau Rivage, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock Casino, Grand Casino and Margaritaville -- all of whom sent numbers of volunteers for Tuesday's island cleanup.

"We've doubled our number of volunteers with more casinos coming on board," said Mississippi Power spokesman Jeff Shepard.

"We're done events like this on about 20 different waterways," said Mark Loughman, Director of Environmental Affairs for Mississippi Power. "We've been everywhere from the Chunky River to the Gulf."

The volunteers who combed Deer Island for garbage and debris Tuesday were both enjoying a beautiful day on the island and taken aback at the amount of trash they found.

"We've been finding socks, shoes, lots of trash, ice bags, styrofoam -- it's really gross," said 9-year-old Libby Roberts of Gulfport, volunteering with her mom, Christine Roberts. They have been volunteering with Renew Our Rivers for four years.

"I think it's a good experience for her," Christine Roberts said of her daughter.

Sean Kennedy of Biloxi was participating in his first ROR and brought along his mom, Jennifer Kennedy.

"Mom was relaxing watching the news on TV and I heard them say they were looking for volunteers to clean up Deer Island," Sean Kennedy said.

"I instantly thought `I want to do that.' I made mom come with me."

By the end of the day, Shepard said volunteers had clearly exceeded last year's total of 1 1/2 tons of trash and debris collected. Over the past eight years since Renew Our Rivers began, some 275 tons has been collected.